Beverage cooler



March 8, 1949. F, 0, ALEXANDER 2,464,11

BEVERAGE COOLER Filed Nov. 21, 1947 I4 lo F/G 2 |8 l2 I9 I6 '6 24 J l5 3 4 72 22 22 23 2 24 2a Q is W 4 29 INVENTOR.

FRANK o.' ALEXANDER ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BEVERAGE COGLER FrankvO. Alexander, Genesee County, Mich.

Application November 21, 1947, Serial No; 787,425

(Cl. y62-141) 1` Claim. 1 This invention relates in general to a beverage cooler and more particularly to an upright, mechanically refrigerated type thereof.

Persons iamiliar with beverage coolers, and' especially beer coolers, have long recognized the need for a type of cooler inwhich kegs of beer, aswell as cases and' individualr bottles thereof, may be cooled'simultaneously.

A further need has been recognized for a cooler in which kegs of: beer may be more conveniently and eiciently cooled, and. whereby all speculation is eliminated' as to which keg is the coolest.

Accordingly a primary object of this invention is to provide a beverage cooler of the upright cabinet type with mechanical refrigeration andY facilities for cooling kegs of beverage, especially beer, as well as cases and individual bottles.

A further object oi this invention is to provide a beverage cooler, as aforesaid, having an independent keg cooling compartment in which a maximum number of kegs may be stored and cooled with a minimum of openings, thereby increasing the cooling efciency of the cooler while reducing the space required for cooling a given quantity of kegs.

A further object of this invention is to provide a beverage cooler, as aforesaid, in which the coolest keg of beverage is automatically brought to the exit door of said keg cooling compartment.

Other objects and purposes will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of equipment upon referring to the accompanying drawings and upon reading the following specication.

In order to meet those objects and purposes,l

mentioned above, as well as others incidental thereto and associated therewith, I have provided an upright, cabinet type, mechanically refrigerated beverage coooler in which there are two upper compartments with independent cooling systems and a lower compartment which depends upon the cooling systems of the upper compartments. A plurality of openings are provided in the horizontal wall between said upper and said lower compartments. The floor of said lower compartment is provided with a pair of rails which slope from one end of said compartment to the other. Each end of said lower compartment is provided with a door. Doors are also provided in the front of said cooler for access to said upper compartments.

For an illustration of one preferred embodiment of the invention, attention is directed to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation-view of the beveragev a top wall l2, a bottom wall I3 and, twoend.

walls, My and I5 respectively. These wallsmay; be made in4 any conventional convenienty manner wherein a suitable insulating, materiali is employed according to` accepted practices. Certain areas,A such as the end walls Ie and I5 may be reinforced with appropriate sheet materials I6", such as wood or metal, for additional strength.

Conventional, insulated doors I'I provide access through the front wall I0 to the upper compartments I8 and I9. Said upper compartments have suitable perforated shelves 22 upon which cases and/ or individual bottles of beverage may be placed, Said shelves may be removably supported by any convenient means such as the ledges 23 affixed to the sidewalls of said compartments.

Cooling units 2f', of any'conventional type may be installed in both ends of the cooler, said units being selected to have suiicient capacity to produce the desired cooling effect.

A lower keg cooling compartment 25 is separated from the said upper compartments I8 and I9 by an intermediate horizontal wall 2B which extends from the end wall I4 to the end wall I5 and from the front wall I0 to the back wall II. Said intermediate wall 26, which may, for example, be an iron grating, is provided with a plurality of small openings 2l through which air may freely circulate between the cooling units 24 and the said lower compartment.

Insulated conventional doors 28 and 2B, of any suitable type, are provided in the end walls Il and I 5, respectively, at the ends of the said lower compartment 25. A pair of parallel base rails 3l and 32 are secured to the floor 33 on the bottom wall I3 in any appropriate manner. Said rails are shaped and positioned so that they slope gently and continuously from a high point adjacent to said door 28 to a low point adjacent to said door 29. Therefore, provided that the cooler is reasonably level, kegs 34 placed in the lower compartment through the door 28 will roll down the base rails 3l and 32 until they reach the door 29 where they may be removed as desired. The llet 35 at the low end of said rails provides an inclined plane preventing kegs from escaping when the door 29 is opened but up which said kegs may easily be urged when being removed from said lower compartmentI through the door 29; A drain 36 of any convenient conventional type may be provided in the bottom wall i3 at a low point therein whereby undesirable iluids may escape from said beverage cooler.

As each keg is removed through the door 29 there will 'be room for another keg at the high end of the .base rails next to the door 28, assuming that the lower compartment is kept full at all times. It may be observed that the above described arrangement for moving the kegs through the cooler eliminates the need for more than one door at each end of the lower compartment, and therefore greatly reduces the cold air leaks usual with a multidoor type of cabinet cooler.

It will also be observed that if a particular keg of beverage is desired and said keg is somewhere between the two doors, the undesired kegs may be removed through the door 29 until the desired keg is obtained and then said undesired kegs may be replaced through the said door 29. The slope in the base rails 3| and 32 is preferably su'iciently gentle that kegs near the low ends thereof may be pushed back up the slope away from the door 29 with little or no eiort.

The base rails 3| and 32 may be made of any suitable material such as wood or metal and may be spaced from each other as desired or required.

Although the above mentioned drawings and description apply to one particular, preferred embodiment of the invention, it is not my intention, implied or otherwise, to eliminate other variations Number or modifications which do not depart from the scope of the invention unless specifically stated to the contrary inthe hereinafter appended claim.

I claim:

In a refrigerated beverage cooler the combination comprising: two adjacent upper compartments each having horizontal shelves for supporting trays or individual bottles of beverages; a pair of refrigerating units disposed respectively at opposite ends of said upper compartments for cooling the contents of said cooler; a single, lower elongated compartment of length substantially equal to the combined lengths of said two upper compartments separated from said upper compartments by an intermediate Wall having a plurality of small openings therethrough providing communication between said upper compartments and said lower compartment, said lower compartment having a door at each end thereof; and a pair of base rails in said lower compartment which rails slope from one of said doors to the other of said doors; whereby barrels of beverage, placed in said lower compartment through the door at the high end of said base rails, will be automatically moved down said rails, to the door at the low end of said base rails, Wherefrom said barrels may be individually removed as desired.

FRANK O. ALEXANDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,264,180 Harris API. 30, 1913 

